Guys,I was just wondering what would be the modern day equivalent to what the covering is on this suitcase TV. While the covering looks good, there are areas where it has been damaged and the back where the feet go needs lots of help.

Are there any restore threads where somebody has recovered one of there or something like it such as an Airline or Teletone, etc.

I recovered a similar set (Emerson 7") with vinyl fabric. A fabric store near me had a variety of colors and I chose a dark brown. Used contact cement, and it turned out well. The vinyl is thicker than the paper thin leatherette, but this was not a problem. There may be a more exact match that I don't know about.================Ron

There used to be (a very few years ago) some material used to cover guitar amp cases. Not a wide selection of colors & styles as I recall, but similar sort of material to these old "portable" radios and TVs.

There used to be (a very few years ago) some material used to cover guitar amp cases. Not a wide selection of colors & styles as I recall, but similar sort of material to these old "portable" radios and TVs.

That may be "Tolex". I've never had a piece of it but I think it is thinner than the vinyl used for upholstering that you might find at a fabric store. Tolex is available several places on the internet.

If you are recovering the cabinet with a fabric like the original, it would have been stuck on with animal-based wood glue. You can remove the original fabric by soaking in water. After you get the fabric off you should wash all the old glue off with soap and water.

The modern equivalent glue is PVA wood glue. It allows you an hour or so to stretch-reposition the fabric, it cleans up with water and dries clear. You make seams and joins by overlapping the fabric and then before the glue has completely set, cut down the line of the join using a VERY SHARP craft knife and a straightedge. Remove the excess material et voila!